Author Piper Vaughn release day interview and give-away

I'm very happy to have an author onmy blog today that I call a very close friend. I had been exchanging emails andtwitters with Piper Vaughn before Gay Rom Lit and meeting her and hanging outin person just solidified how special she was to me. Piper has a Christmasshort, Zombie Wonderland, coming out December 7 from Less Than 3 Press.


Welcome, bestie! Thanks for stoppingby. Are you ready?


Thanksfor having me, babe! I'm totally ready. And let me just say, I was thrilled tomeet you at GRL and can't wait to hang out again next year! You are an awesomelady, and I'm glad to call you a friend. :D

1.     How did you get started writing m/m romance? Did you always wantto be a writer?I've been writing and tinkering around withcharacters since I was around ten or eleven, so I can honestly say that, yes, Ialways wanted to be a writer. I wrote het romance for a long time, but Iactually started writing m/m romance back in my fanfic days, too. My first wasa songfic for one of my favorite anime pairings. There was no romance in thisspecific anime (Weiss Kreuz), but there were four delicious boys to pair up inall kinds of ways. And so I did. :) I started writing original m/m romancestories back in October of 2010. 2.     Did you have any early influences either in this genre or anyother?In this genre, I'd probably say Amy Lane in that Iaspire to be even half as good someday and I've adored everything I've read byher up to this point. She's my absolute fave. Outside of m/m romance, some ofmy faves, and therefore influences in some way or another, are JulietMarillier, Robin McKinley, Kresley Cole, Jo Beverley, Kristan Higgins,Charlaine Harris, Richelle Mead, and JR Ward.3.     What is the hardest part about writing for you? The benefits?The hardest part? Working through writer's block.Sometimes I get seriously stuck and it might take me days to move on. Thebenefits? The satisfaction of completing a story I've been dying to tell andgetting my characters to their HEA. I'm a romantic at heart. It's all about thehappily ever after for me. And if someone enjoys the story I wanted to tell,even better. :)4.     Tell us a little about your Christmas story. Are Christmas zombiesa regular occurrence in your household??My story is about a waiter named Emery O'Reilly and thecustomer he's been crushing on for a few months. He's been trying, and failing,to work up the courage to ask Ross out on a date. Before he can do it, on a stormyChristmas Eve night, the zombie apocalypse begins and the race is on for Emeryand Ross to make it to Ross's cabin up north, where Ross thinks they'd have abetter chance of surviving.  Zombies actually area common occurrence in my house, Christmas or otherwise. :) I'm a bigzombie fan—I have zombie movies, T-shirts, books, a 2012 zombie calendar just waitingto be opened after the New Year, videogames, and even a zombie survivalplan…just in case. ;)5.     Do you have any writing quirks? (ie computer has to be facing acertain way, cup of coffee on the left, certain music playing, etc)Hmm…actually, I can't think of any. Sometimes I writewith music on, sometimes I need silence, sometimes I write on my desktop in thebedroom, and sometimes it's down in the den or the basement on my laptop.Usually I like having my phone and a drink nearby, but I wouldn't call eitherof those things necessary for me to write. 6.     Do you have any writing or reading squicks? Things you don't liketo read and can't see yourself ever writing?Non-con is one thing I can't ever see myself writing.Rape is very hard for me to read and would probably be next to impossible forme to write. Dub-con probably falls on this list, too, but I can't say 100% noto that. I'm definitely not into extreme kink, like scat, golden showers, or thatsort of thing, either. Cheating would probably be on this list, too. In generalI don't like to read it, though I have and probably will in the future, and Idon't think writing it would ever come easy to me. But other than those things,I'd say most stuff is fair game. 7.     As well as being a solo writer, you also have a writingpartnership with MJ O'Shea, how did that come about and do you have apreference now? MJ and I met on Goodreads, in the M/M Romance group.Shortly after we met, we formed a crit group with several other authors, andthen one day the subject of co-writing came up. I asked MJ if she'd ever beinterested in writing with me. She said yes, and so later when I came up withthe original idea for Moonlight BecomesYou, I asked her if she wanted to write it together. Obviously, being thatMBY came out as a joint project from Loose Id a few months ago, she liked theidea. :) Do I have a preference? Hmm…both writing solo andwriting with a partner have their pros and cons. Sometimes having a partner isbetter because, hey, you're doing half the work. You have someone to bounceideas off of and work through possible plot issues. You have someone just asinvested in the story and outcome as you are, who will encourage you if you'reblocked or tired or feeling uninspired. And, of course, there's the idea thatyou're creating something together, something that came from both of your headsand blended smoothly into one cohesive vision (or at least you hope so), andthat is a very cool feeling. But, then, when you write alone, you have completecontrol. You don't have to worry about making sure your partner is okay withwhat you want to do with a certain scene or character, or having to discuss allmajor changes before you can start implementing them, or feeling like you haveto write at a certain speed so you don't let the other person down. So, yeah,pros and cons. I like both, but in different ways.8.     What's next on your plate? What are you working on?Currently, I am working on a Valentine's Day short forLess Than Three Press, which will be a follow-up to the free story I wrote forthe M/M Romance group's Hot Summer Daysanthology. After that, I have a paranormal book that has to be written, thesequel to MJ's A Little Bite of Magic.Also, I was thrilled to be invited to submit to an invite-only publisher, and Ineed to decide on which story I want to write for them, since I'm hoping tohave something submitted in the very near future. After that, who knows? I haveplenty of solo and joint projects to keep me busy for a long time to come. :)9.     What's your favorite part of ChristmasJust coming together and spending time with myfamily. My brother lived in another state for a really long time and this willbe his first Christmas with us since he moved back in 2007. So hanging out withhim and the rest of my family is really what I'm looking forward to most. Plus,I love to bake and Christmas gives me the perfect excuse to bake to my heart'scontent. :D10.  Finally – a few quick choices:a.     Coffee or tea – Depends on my mood, but usually coffee. b.     Dog or cat – Dog c.     Beach or mountains – Mountains d.     Pecs or abs – Abs :Pe.     Smile or eyes – Smile f.      Cowboys or rockstars – Rockstars! (I bet you know my answer to that already. ;D)g.     Who would win in a fight – vampires or werewolves? And why. – Well, if we're talkingreal vampires and werewolves and not the Twilightversion, I'd say probably vampires. Super human speed, strength, reflexes, etc.Unless a vamp was grossly outnumbered, I think he'd win in a fight. :)
Piper has graciouslyoffered up a copy of her holiday story, Zombie Wonderland, to one luckycommenter on my blog.  Leave your nameand EMAIL ADDRESS with your comment and I'll be doing the drawing on Thursday,December 8.
The Blurb:Nothingsays Christmas like droves of the undead… 

All Emery wants for Christmas is someone to shareit with. It looks like he might finally be getting his wish in Ross, the sexycustomer he's been crushing on for months. But neither of them counted on thezombies, or on being caught in the worst blizzard in half a century. Even witha plan for contending with the zombie hordes, surviving will take a miracle. 

It's not exactly how Emery dreamed of spending Christmaswith Ross, but he can't think of a better way to spend a zombie apocalypse.
If you don't win, you canpick it up at Less Than Three Press and besure to check out Piper's other books on her website http://www.pipervaughn.com.